Glimpse of India – Om- Wisdom Decoded

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Om – Wisdom Decoded

Ever noticed that Indian prayers and hymns contain the word ‘OM or ॐ’ as a ritual and absence of OM leaves a sense of incompletion. We utter the word and our body and soul get a dose of ultimate peacefulness. Considered the most sacred symbol in Hinduism, OM is the essence of ultimate reality.

1) OM is an inseparable part of ancient manuscripts, temples, monasteries. It is clear that OM has spiritual meaning in all religions.

2) Though considered as the most important spiritual sound by all, the idea of OM is different in different religions.

3) In Hindu dharma, OM is equivalent to ‘Atman’, the realisation of the self. The ultimate aim of Hinduism is to find oneself as the spiritual being rather than the material being. They believe that this world is the journey of spiritual beings, the Atmans, as human beings and not the other way round.

4) Hindu Vedas and Upanishads used the syllable OM extensively. The chanting of mantras is not complete without OM. Spiritual activities like meditation and yoga have meaningful inclusion of OM.

5) OM was first mentioned in Upanishads. The meaning of OM is ‘universally accepted symbol of religion’. Other terms used for OM are ‘Ekakshara’, ‘Omkara.

6) OM is pronounced as AUM. ‘A’ represents the waking state, ‘U’ represents the dream state and ‘M’ represents the unconscious state.

7) In the symbol ॐ, the bottom curve shows the waking state, the middle curve shows the dream state and upper curve is the state of deep sleep. The crescent above the curves is ‘Maya’ that is an obstacle in reaching the ultimate state. The dot at the top is the highest state that is where Atman meets Brahman🙏

This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z and Global AtoZ blogging challenge. I’m writing 26 posts in the month of April on the theme Glimpse of India. Follow my work on social media platforms with hashtags #AditiWrites, #CelebrateIndiaWithAditi

I want to add a hidden point. The Om symbol represents the face of elephant god and inturn thus, represents the ida, pingala and sushumna Nadi/canals. This is because the sublime sound of Om, which is inaudible, is heard only when awakened by Kundalini. For this one needs to cross obstacles of mind and hemce: god of obstacles, Om, Nadis are all linked and lie in symbolic harmony.

Haha…as I already told, I am also a seeker like you and a fellow blogger who expresses the inner opinion through articles…..I just liked the content and wanted to add the info for completeness. All the best.